BASEBALL

BASEBALL; Taking a Step on Supplements

Published: March 7, 2003

MILWAUKEE, March 6—
The Milwaukee Brewers want to ban supplements from their clubhouse and have discouraged players from using them. But it is unclear if the team can enforce any prohibitions.

Brewers' players received a document this week outlining the dangers of supplements, both legal and illegal, containing stimulants and steroids.

''Because of health risks, the Milwaukee Brewers do not recommend that any of their personnel take supplements,'' the document said. ''Club policy forbids the storage of supplements in the clubhouse, including in your locker. Players who choose to take supplements should make the medical staff aware of which supplements they are taking to minimize their health risks.''

Players were required to sign and date the document to acknowledge they had received it, and everybody on the 40-man roster did so.

General Manager Doug Melvin said the club cannot prohibit storage or use of legal supplements in the clubhouse without approval from the players' union, and that the memo was more of a suggestion than a ban. ''It's more of an educational process,'' Melvin said. ''What we're doing is discouraging them from using and storing them at the ballpark.''

Gene Orza, the union's No. 2 official, was not overly concerned. ''I'm confident we can work out the problems of unilaterally adopted club policy,'' he said.